by Renée Jaggér
It was a beautiful night. The moon was almost full, and she’d never before had the luxury of running through the woods in wolf shape under peaceful circumstances. She’d only shapeshifted during combat. It was almost depressing when the short journey came to an end.
Standing before her house, she stood up and shrank back into a woman, marveling at how smooth and easy changing had become. There were lights on in the house, so her brothers must have been waiting for her. Maybe her father was home, too.
As she stepped up onto the porch, the door opened, and Jacob stepped out. He stood there for a second, blinking dumbly at her, and then seized her in a giant bear hug.
“Ow,” she complained. “I’m okay, but you’re on the verge of changing that if you don’t stop crushing me.”
“Bailey,” he gasped, “you have no idea how worried we were. It looked like the end of the goddamn world out there.”
He released her just as Russell and Kurt appeared behind him.
The girl, the shaman, looked them over, and put her hands on her hips. “Not the end of the world,” she told them, “but the beginning of something else. Have I got a story for you dumbasses! Better break out some beer.
“And get me some goddamn clothes!”
Shannon DiGrezza sat on the dingy bed in the cheap motel room she’d rented, hugging her knees to her narrow chest and crying into the hem of her dress. She was probably ruining it, smearing magenta eye shadow all over the material, but right now, she didn’t care.
She could probably have rented a nicer room if she’d looked harder, but she wanted to punish herself with this shithole. Her entire world had collapsed. What difference did it make?
Never again, she knew, would anything be the same. She’d had a plan, and she had always, always believed things would work out. She always got what she wanted sooner or later. Always.
But now that was impossible.
She might still be able to get Roland. Possibly. But even if that little victory was open to her, it was soured by all that had happened.
Her two best friends were dead, or possibly worse than dead. Shannon would never get to share Roland with Aida and Callie, spawning the most powerful coven in America from the three of them, as she’d planned to do.
She had broken down in front of those European whores. They’d humiliated her. She wouldn’t forget that. It was certainly not in her plan.
And somehow, even if she got to see the day when Roland was at her side and all the pieces of shit who’d wronged her were dying in agony, she sensed that he, the beautiful wizard she’d always assumed was secretly in love with her, would still be thinking about Bailey in his off-moments.
“They’ll pay.” She sniffed as the worst of the sobbing subsided. Idle chatter came from the stupid sports program on the TV, which she’d cranked up so no one could hear her crying. “All of them. I swear revenge. In the name of fucking Freya, I will destroy them all.”
Saying it out loud made her feel a little better, and in her head, she ran through all the people she meant when she made the vow.
The Venatori, obviously, the ones who’d killed Aida and Callie. Those wretched skanks would suffer more than her friends had, and their organization would regret ever setting foot in the Pacific Northwest. Witch history would shudder to think what had happened to them.
Those ugly, boring, middle-aged men from the Agency who thought they had the right to arrest her and threaten her and tell her what she could and couldn’t do. She’d shove their sunglasses up their asses, then fuse their rectums shut. Or something like that.
Roland, even. She still wanted him, more or less. But he’d gone along with all this shit, and he would have to go through the same kind of pain she had. He’d do some serious penance before he could hope for the peace and plenty that awaited him as her husband, and then he’d fall on his knees and thank her for setting everything right.
Last of all, Shannon swore vengeance on the little bitch who’d almost singlehandedly started the whole shitstorm, who had now ruined everything.
Bailey Nordin.
The Story Continues with Were War
Available now at your favorite online bookstore.
Note from Renée
March 18, 2020
You made it! Here we are again at the end of this, my third book! Thank you so much for reading this far.
Storm the cat decided to be a creep today. He sat on top of his cat carpet jungle-thing, where his food is served to keep it away from Josey-fiend, looked me straight in the face, and pushed off the bowl. Then he climbed the curtains, sat on top of the rod, and proceeded to wash himself in massive unconcern.
Jo watched him the whole time, at first passively, then with a doggie grin, egging him on.
What is this, Annoy the Human Day?
Speaking of annoying the human, my car blew a piston, so it’s time to replace old faithful. What am I going to get, you might ask?
Well, I am cogitating that. I need something that can handle ice and snow and mud and rain. Lots of rain. Most importantly, I need something that can handle Labradoodles covered in ice and snow and mud and rain. I also need high clearance, because some of my fave places are accessed via dirt roads—which is where said Labradoodle picks up her adornments.
So she and I are going to trundle over to the Jeep dealer in
I’m just that kind of rebel.
Wish me luck. Jo and I are heading out.
But before I go, I want to thank my advance reader team, especially John, Rachel, Kelly, and Larry, for their amazing insight and patience in making this book the best it can be!
I hope you enjoyed Bailey’s and Roland’s third adventure. Bailey and Roland will be back. And if you get a moment, drop me a review, please. Those are the lifeblood of any writer. We appreciate you!
Until next time,
Renée
I couldn’t do this without you!
Thanks to my early readers, you rock!
Veronica Stephan-Miller, Debi Sateren, Dorothy Lloyd , Jackey Hankard-Brodie , Jeff Goode, Deb Mader, Micky Cocker, Diane L. Smith , Dave Hicks, Angel LaVey
Connect With The Author
Renée Jaggér Social
Website:
https://reneejagger.com/
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Books from Renée
The WereWitch Series
Bad Attitude (Book One)
A Bit Aggressive (Book Two)
Too Much Magic (Book Three)
Were War (Coming Soon)